Sinomine Injects $600M in Kitumba Copper Mine Project in Zambia

On 16 August 2024, Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema and Minister of Mines Paul Kabuswe attended the groundbreaking ceremony for Sinomine’s Kitumba #Copper Mine Project. The CEO of Sinomine Kitumba WANG Pingwei and Ambassador HAN Jing represented China’s side.

The mine is situated in Mumbwa District in the Central Province of Zambia. It spans an area of nearly 250 square kilometers and encompasses over 36 million tonnes of copper ore at an average grade of 1.72%.

It is to be recalled that in 2024, Sinomine injected USD 58.5 million into Junction Mining Limited, which owned the rights to the Kitumba mining assets. Now, Sinomine (SZSE: 2738) declared that it plans to invest another USD 600 million to develop the project.

Annually, the mine will process 3.5 million tonnes of ore, while the smelter will output 50,000 tonnes of copper cathode. In addition, Sinomine will bring online a 50-MW solar farm to power the smelter and mining operations. Any excess power generated will be fed back into Zambia’s grid and enhance #ElectricityAccess to the local community of Mumbwa.

During his address, President Hichilema underlined that the Kitumba project will generate 3,000 direct and indirect jobs. The Government of Zambia has set a target of expanding the national production of copper to 3 million tonnes by 2030 and Kitumba will contribute to making this target. The Project is expected to become fully operational, with extraction and refining, by the end of 2026.